


The Journey It Took To Get Here

by LeoRodger24



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Minor Character Death, SHIP DARCY LEWIS WITH ALL THE THINGS, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-10-13
Packaged: 2020-06-24 08:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 6,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19719724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoRodger24/pseuds/LeoRodger24
Summary: Darcy Lewis is orphaned as a child and ends up adopted by Tony Stark, and that sets her on the path to meeting her soulmate.This is set in a soulmate AU where the name of your soulmate appears on your wrist on your 25th birthday.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own any of these characters, or any of the Marvel franchise.  
> Enjoy!

When Darcy Lewis was born to Jack and Mary Lewis, she came into a world where she was loved. Growing up, she had a home, a loving big brother, a noisy little sister, doting parents with each other’s names on their wrists, and a home filled to the ceiling with joy.  
  
Darcy was always a bright child, learning to read and write very young and had mastered all her times table before anyone else in her class. She was picked on, but she wasn’t all that bothered. Who cared if some of her classmates didn’t like her? She could go home to laughter and smiles and hugs and forget about them. She was happy. Until she wasn’t.  
It was late in the evening and a twelve-year-old Darcy was making her way home from the library in the snow, puzzling over a computing problem that her tutor had sent her, when she first saw the smoke. A lot of smoke. She picked up the pace, her phone out to call the fire brigade, worried about her neighbours, when she saw which house was burning down. The air left her lungs with a sickening thud, as she stood there, alone, watching her happy life crumble and collapse.  
  
She would always remember that night, and the social workers and the police, and the gentle interrogations at the police station as they decided on premeditated arson with intent to kill, and new adults that she didn’t know worrying and arguing over her safety and deciding that she should get a new identity. The world seemed so far away, and time seemed liquid, speeding and stopping at will to torture her further, it had been years since she heard a large man declaring that there were no survivors, and minutes later she was in a new building, a new home, with too many other children.  
  
She wasn’t there for long though, she met new kids every other week, new ‘parents’ every month and a new ‘home’ a few times a year. She rarely, if ever, cried about what she lost that winter, but threw herself into her coding and other studies, getting the top scores in all her exams and tests at school, and doing her homework and more until late into the night so that she didn’t have the time to mourn, let alone cry. She felt hollow inside however, as if her heart missed the joy and the laughter and the smiles and the hugs. She was picked on again, this time without the security and warmth of home to fall back on. She was well and truly alone.  
  
At fifteen and a half years old, Darcy still spent a large majority of her time in the library, doing her homework and studying computing and technological design. She quickly made sort-of-friends with the librarian, who allowed her to study the usually restricted papers by significant people in scientific history, including the more recent MIT papers published by none other than Anthony Edward Stark, though she had no idea quite how much this privilege would go on to change her life.  
  
One evening, she was in her room in the foster home with the (technically illegal) photocopies of Stark’s papers, when she noticed something a little confusing: a mistake in the lengthy equation written by a billionaire genius, an adult billionaire genius, marked and peer reviewed by some of the best scientists in America. She then went on to calculate the rest of the equation, noticing again and again how the original error invalidated the entire paper, so she scanned the document diligently, highlighting and correcting each mistake. Stark should really be told about these shouldn’t he? And so, on a whim, she looked up the exact address for Tony Stark and got her new and improved papers ready to send.  
The next morning, she had begun to rethink her decision, but decided to send it on her way to the library anyway, he’d never find out that it was her. Hell, he didn’t even know she existed. So she sent it and carried on her day, starting on her designs for an AI system. It was going to be even better than Tony Stark’s. She wanted to be better than Stark, and she wasn’t quite sure why.  
  
And she didn’t know why she sent him her notes either, she didn’t expect him to respond, she definitely didn’t expect a personal response. But she got one anyway. On live television of all things.

*  
-Reporter: “And do you have any more comments on this incident Mr Stark?”  
  
-Tony: “No but I have something else I’d like to say. Completely unrelated. Somebody, I don’t know who, mailed me a version of my MIT thesis with flaws they found in it. Whoever you are, I’m impressed.”  
  
-Reporter: “How were these mistakes not found before? Wasn’t your thesis checked many, many times?”  
  
-Tony: “Yes it was, but I guess this person is just smarter than me, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. I’ve checked my calculations and theirs, and they’re right. Whoever this was, feel free to correct anything else I’ve got. I’ll know if you weren’t the first guy by the way, just saying.”  
*

  


So, this was not at all what Darcy Lewis expected when she mailed him back his thesis. Not at all. Okay.  
  
Challenge accepted.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy meets Stark for the first time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's left kudos or comments, I'm glad you liked it so far, and I hope you like this chapter too!  
> I don't own Marvel or any of the Characters.

In the aftermath of this televised announcement many people claimed to be responsible for the anonymous corrections to Mr Stark’s works, though Darcy never stepped forwards to be held accountable for her actions. No, she just went back to the library and (illegally) photocopied more of Stark’s work and sat down once again with her highlighters and calculator and combed each page for the slightest blunder in his calculations. Somehow, there were many.  
  
And once again she mailed them to Stark, then went about her day. She had nearly completed her AI programming, though it was difficult on such an old, second-hand laptop. She had taught herself everything she knew about coding, and she was motivated largely by the idea of being better than Tony Stark. Her AI would be better than Tony’s.

  


She went on in this fashion for several weeks, working on her own technology and theoretical designs while correcting/improving Stark’s designs. He didn’t acknowledge what she was doing, and she didn’t honestly expect him to, but she continued to send the documents anyway, just for the hell of it.  
  
It had been maybe five or six weeks since she’d come across the first mistake, and she’d mailed perhaps twenty improvements to Stark Industries, when a shadow fell across the desk where Darcy was highlighting the flaws in some more of his coding.  
  
“Well hello there, it seems I found my proof-reader,” and Holy Shit, Tony Stark was in front of her, sitting across the desk, looking at her. At her. And so she bolted.  
When she returned a few days later she took a seat at the far back of the room, and instead of risking being caught with his code again, she began working on the solar panels she wanted to attach to her AI glasses when they were ready. Darcy had hoped not to get caught again but she had never been the luckiest person on the planet, and she wasn’t all that surprised when Stark sat down on the opposite side of the table once again.  
  
“I know it’s you,” there was no point in ignoring him, and it would be too difficult to leave quickly with all her tools on the table.  
  
“There’s no point denying it is there?” she knew if he was here twice then he must be certain.  
  
“Nope, but the only thing I don’t know right now is who you are, I didn’t think internet stalking a teenager would be a great idea.”  
  
“You’re right, it wouldn’t be,” she wasn’t sure exactly what to say, she was in the foster system under a false name for her own safety and she didn’t know quite what to do. “Kat. Kat Dennings.”  
  
“Nice to meet you Kat, what are you working on?”  
  
“Miniature solar panels capable of powering electronic glasses,” she replied, not sounding at all as nervous as she felt, “Why are you here Mr Stark?”  
  
“I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m here because you’ve clearly got a smart head on our shoulders, and seeing as you look about sixteen, there’s significant room for improvement. I know that it’s you who’s been sending me the edits of my work so I was wondering if you’d like to help me improve the technology itself instead of the maths behind it, and in return I can mentor you,” he leaned back in his chair, gauging her reaction.  
  
“You want me to help you improve your tech?”  
  
“Yup”  
  
“And you want to mentor me?”  
  
“Yup”  
  
“Me?”  
  
“Yes. I want you to help me with my inventions, and I think I could teach and train you in return. Would you like some time to think about it?” and maybe it was how he seemed as if he genuinely cared about her feelings, but Darcy found herself agreeing, and arranging a time to meet him at Stark Industries the following week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you enjoyed this chapter, and if you notice any grammatical errors or spelling errors, or any inconsistencies in the story, please don't hesitate to let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy meets with Tony at Stark Tower, and meets Pepper for the first time too

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter's a bit longer, but the rest is taking longer to write than I expected. I'll probably have another chapter done by the end of next week though. I don't own Marvel or any of these characters.

The next week rolled around a lot quicker than Darcy expected. It had seemed like no time had passed since she had met with Tony before she was in the foyer of Stark Industries, trying to persuade the receptionist that she knows Mr Stark and isn’t a stalker. That took a while.  
  
Then the man himself showed up, “Kat Dennings, if it isn’t the genius of the hour. Sarah, you can let her through, and please print her a lanyard then we can head down to the labs.”  
  
Before she knew what was happening, she was in Stark’s laboratory, surrounded by the most expensive high-tech equipment she had ever seen, and probably would ever see. It was daunting, to be in a room like this, with machinery and computers worth more than millions, and the whole situation felt so out of her league. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she tuned out of everything that Tony was saying.  
  
“…so yeah, I usually work over here, and if you choose to take this internship you could work at that workbench, I can move that stuff out of the way, so yeah. Should be good,” and he turned to look at her, “So what do you think?” but before she could try and come up with a way to convey her doubt, the glass doors of the lab burst open, revealing a furious Pepper Potts.  
  
“Tony! Is this what I think it is? You’re trying to hire the girl who was correcting your work, when I expressly told you it was a bad idea? What are you thinking?” Pepper hadn’t seen Darcy yet, so she stepped out from behind the robot that was hiding her.  
  
“Pleased to meet you too Ms Potts. I’m Kat Dennings, the girl who was correcting Mr Stark’s work,” it was hard to keep a straight face, but Darcy was also terrified. Ms Potts was an extremely impressive woman and Darcy did not want to get on her bad side. But oh boy, Pepper looked surprised.  
  
“Oh, you’re here. Listen, I didn’t mean that personally at all, just from what Tony told me you’re only sixteen and I’m not sure it’s wise to go in to business with a teenager, and our staffing team couldn’t find anything online about you,” (probably because she’s in care and under the State’s protection and is mildly paranoid about being found by her family’s murderer) Darcy noticed that Pepper was looking at her a little expectantly,  
  
“No. I get it. I’ve never really been a fan of social media. But I’m not a teenager,” lies, “I’m 18. I know I look younger,” more lies, “If you still think it’s a bad idea for Tony to hire me then I’m fine with that,” kind of a lie? She didn’t really know what she wanted to do.  
  
“Well,” Pepper looked kind of lost, “I guess we can talk about this…internship? Job? We need to work out some details, clearly, how about another meeting in a weeks’ time?” she looked to Tony, who had been uncharacteristically silent, that’s to say he’d been silent for about three minutes.  
  
“Yeah Pep, that sounds like a good idea. Kat are you okay to come back, maybe next Saturday?” and she suddenly realised that yes, she desperately wanted this internship opportunity.  
  
“Yeah, sounds good.”  
Darcy left Stark Tower that day, knowing that she did know what she wanted to do after all.  
  
Before she saw Tony and Pepper on Saturday, Darcy made herself a fake ID, just in case. So by Friday evening Kat Dennings, 18 years of age, born on 16th June 1993, teaching assistant at Brooklyn Special Education Centre, was ready for her meeting.  
  
And it worked. The meeting passed smoothly, and by the end of it she had a steady-ish job lined up, a decent pay rate, good hours that fitted around her ‘teaching assistant job that she didn’t want to give up’ (aka school) and neither Tony nor Pepper had noticed that anything was amiss. She was surprised that her plan had succeeded, though she was still waiting for the second shoe to drop, it seemed too good to be true.  
  
On Monday evening after school Darcy made her way over to Stark Tower to begin her internship and was incredibly nervous, fully aware that she was technically breaking several laws, but also excited at a chance to work with and be mentored by Tony Stark.  
  
They got on pretty well, he talked a lot but seemed perfectly comfortable in the silence as well, and Darcy had learnt a lot, even in just two hours. She had managed to edit some of the coding in Jarvis, which basically just strengthened his security measurements and in return he helped her a little with her own AI. She enjoyed working with Tony because it wasn’t really like a job, more like being paid to babysit and invent at the same time, and it was actually fun. He had a great taste in music, talking to him was interesting, she could bounce ideas off of him and work on them together, and he was a surprisingly good listener. Within a week they were good friends and even Pepper had begun to warm up to her, even inviting her out to brunch. And still, no one questioned her age or identity.  
  
While working on a new type of joint for the Iron Man armour, she finally felt comfortable enough around him to bring up the topic of soulmates, and the cursive “Virginia Potts” written on his wrist.  
  
“Well, I met her when I was in my thirties, so we knew straight away who we were going to be to each other. I was in a dark place then and she brought me out of it, and I don’t know what I did to deserve her, you know?” he trailed off, smiling softly. Darcy envied him a little, or a lot, whatever, she couldn’t wait to find her soulmate. She was jealous of people who knew exactly who they were meant to be with, she didn’t exactly have anyone, and it was what she craved more than anything else in the world. But she knew it would come to her someday.  
But then he asked a question that made her stop what she was doing completely.  
  
“You won’t have your name yet, are your parents soulmates?”  
  
“Yeah, they were,” and he must have had better social skills than the press gave him credit for, as he must’ve noticed how tense she was in that moment.  
  
“I’m sorry, I feel like I upset you, are you alright?” and god, how was she supposed to answer that without spilling the whole story? She hated lying about her parents, it was the one lie she couldn’t tell without it nagging at her like crazy. So she gulped and just told the truth that she could tell,  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. I don’t like to talk about my family, they died when I was young,” but then she felt like redacting her previous thoughts about his social skills, when he asked what had happened.  
  
“Tony, I just heard her say she didn’t want to talk about it,” thank god for Pepper Potts, “Sorry Kat. We’re working on it. Are you okay dear?”  
  
“Yeah, I’m fine. I think it’s about time I started heading home though.”  
Damn, that was probably one of the hardest conversations she’s had for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and thank you so much to everyone who's left kudos or comments! They mean a lot to me.  
> Please let me know if you spot any mistakes with spelling, grammar or the plot, Thanks :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little sad guys, sorry. Hope you enjoy it anyway!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, I don't own Marvel or any of these characters,  
> Secondly, a huge thank you to everyone so far who's read this and left kudos or comments. This is going to end up as the longest thing I've written and your support is really appreciated.

Darcy was going through a tough time because (on top of talking to Tony about her parents) the fourth anniversary of her family’s death was only two months away, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with it. She never was. It had been just over a week since she had last seen Tony and Pepper, just over a week since she had left that awkward and upsetting conversation. She’d been ignoring their calls as she didn’t want to be asked any awkward or upsetting questions or treated like fragile china. She knew she’d have to go back, so eleven days after she’d left, she strolled back into the labs to the tune of Back In Black.  
  
“Hey Jarvis? Did ya miss me? “  
  
“Why yes, Miss Dennings, your absence has been noted. Ms Potts has requested that upon your arrival I invite you up to her office. Please proceed to the elevator on your left.”  
  
“Thanks J”  
  
Darcy followed the instructions up to Pepper’s office, nervous beyond measure, not sure whether to expect being fired or apologised to. Needing to wait in an armchair outside the office didn’t help much but she waited patiently none the less.  
  
“Ah, Kat, please come in. I’m so pleased you came back. Tony and I were worried that he had really offended you. Are you okay?” and maybe it was relief, maybe it was the way Pepper was one of the first women to show genuine care and concern for her since her mother died, but Darcy found herself in tears in the middle of Pepper’s office. Full on snot tears.  
  
“I’m…I’m okay. Just give me…give me a second,” she tried to control herself, “I’m sorry”  
  
“It’s okay, take all the time you need,” and damn that just set her off again. Tony came in at some point and had sat at the back of the room while Pepper rubbed her back and handed her tissues.  
  
When Darcy had finally stopped crying, she felt ready to talk to Pepper and Tony. About everything. She had known them for months now, and trusted them completely, but she wasn’t quite sure why.  
  
“I need to tell you guys something. And I need you to please not get mad. I’m going to monologue now because I’m not completely sure if I can get through it if you ask questions or interrupt, so can you ask questions after, okay?” her voice was already cracking even though she had been rehearsing this speech since she took the job.  
  
“Okay”  
  
“Okay”  
  
“I’ve been lying to you from the beginning. My name isn’t Kat Dennings, I’m not eighteen and I’m not a teachers assistant, obviously. I’m Darcy Lewis. I’m fifteen and a Sophomore in high school, and I live in a care home. My name was changed to Kat when I was twelve, because I was placed under the States protection when…” she paused and wiped her face aggressively, refusing to let any more tears leak through. She sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes again, “when my house was burnt down with my mother, father, sister and brother inside.” She had to stop again to try and stop herself from crying, “They were murdered, and the police thought that whoever did it would try to come after me next. I started correcting your work because I don’t like not being busy. I lied because this was a brilliant opportunity that I knew I wouldn’t be able to get as a fifteen-year-old. I’m sorry I lied, and I’ll get my things now,” and although she had promised them time to ask questions, Darcy did what it seemed she was best at. She left the room as quickly as she could. She decided in that moment to leave her belongings behind in the lab, as she felt she didn’t deserve to have anything that Stark had gifted her or helped her to make. Also, she didn’t want to face him or Pepper again. So she ran out of the hidden back exit to avoid any lurking reporters and didn’t stop until she was back in her bedroom at the Home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! And thank you to anyone who's left kudos or comments!  
> Please let me know if you spot any mistakes, I hope you enjoyed reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Marvel or any characters.  
> Big thank you to anyone reading this, I hope you enjoy it!

It was week five of being on her own without her job, and Darcy didn’t know what to do with her time. She was used to sneaking out of the Home and back in again before and after going to Stark’s and it had been months since she hadn’t had anything else to do. It didn’t really help much that she’d left all of her projects at the lab. She kept on hoping that she would hear from Tony or Pepper, but her phone was also still at the lab and she definitely didn’t want to go back for it.  
  
So yeah, she was bored and lonely and miserable, and all this free time didn’t exactly help her forget that it had been just over four years since her family had died. Or the fact that she had jeopardised her safety just to tell Pepper and Stark the truth. What was she thinking? And just as she had restarted her loop of spiralling into a state of dread and anxiety and depression, her care worker knocked. Great.  
  
“Kat dear, please come down to the meeting room. There are some people here who would like to meet you.”  
  
More new parents. Yay.  
  
She took her time getting to the meeting room, in no hurry to meet the latest in a long line of phoney replacements that her mess of a social worker had approved but was met with a surprise. Tony and Pepper were here. For some reason.  
  
“Kat, my wife and I are so happy to meet you, we’ve heard so much about you,”  
  
“Hi…Mr Stark…why did you want to see me?” but it was Pepper who chipped in, with a soft smile and reassurance in her eyes.  
  
“Tony and I have been hoping to adopt for an awfully long time now, we heard about you and just had to meet you. We’d like to get to know you better. If that’s something that you’d like of course.” Darcy didn’t know what to say, what charade they were playing, or what they expected her to do. So she turned to her care worker and asked if she could talk to these “very kind people” in private.  
  
“Why are you guys really here? I know that what I did was wrong.”  
  
“O sweetheart, no. Tony and I don’t blame you at all for lying. You’ve had to lie for years to keep yourself safe, we understand that,” Pepper was just as understanding as always, and there was something about being around her and Tony that made Darcy feel safe.  
  
“We were telling the truth earlier as well. We’ve been trying to adopt for years, and when you told us that you were in care it sort of felt like kismet, you know? So we asked about you, and we would like to get to know you better if you want that too,” he seemed genuine, and Darcy wasn’t sure what to think, “Pep and I know that you’ll be sixteen in a few months, so you’d be leaving care soon anyway, and if that’s what you want we’d completely respect that choice, but like we said, we’d love to get to know you better and maybe foster you, if you’d like that.”  
  
“I don’t know. I’ve had foster parents before and it never worked out. I don’t want to replace the parents I’ve already got, and I know that’s not what fostering is, but...it’s what it feels like.”  
  
“And we get that, we understand. We don’t want or expect you to call us mom and dad or anything, but all cards on the table, this place seems like a real shithole and I’m guessing you’d be better off with us. even just as friends that live in the same house and have a large age gap between them.”  
  
And Darcy wasn’t sure now if it was Pepper’s hilariously shocked face or the way neither of them wanted to push her boundaries, but she found herself wanting to say yes.  
  
“Let me think about it. I think I just need some time.”  
  
“Take all the time you need. Here’s your phone back by the way, there are lots of missed calls from before we realised that you left it in the lab. Let us know when you decide?”  
  
“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for anyone who's left comments or kudos, I really appreciate it!  
> please let me know if I've made any mistakes :)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own Marvel or any of these characters, I hope you enjoy this update!

Darcy wasn’t at all sure what to do. She wanted more than anything for someone else to make this choice for her, it was such a big decision after all. What she needed was a sign, or divine intervention, or a pros/cons list.  
  
Pros:  
• She would have a real home  
• Tony and Pepper are such nice people  
• She would be able to use the lab and her designs would improve  
• They seemed to really want her there  
• Tony was right and the home really was a shithole  
• She really wanted to say yes  
  
Cons  
• She already had a family  
• Being fostered by Stark would put her in the media and possibly jeopardise her safety  
• It could also jeopardise their safety  
• It would be difficult to keep her identity hidden  
• It’s so much harder to take back a yes if she changed her mind  
  
So yeah, she had absolutely no idea what she was going to do. She didn’t think she would change her mind if she said yes, but there were so many potential problems with either choice. She would have to sleep on it, then decide in the morning.

  


Screaming  
  
Burning  
  
Flames licking the edges of her vision  
  
Her home collapsing  
  
Her mother and father turning to ash in front of her  
  
Her brother and sister’s charred corpses  
  
Flames melting snow

  


Darcy woke with a start but lay in her bed, unable to move, her duvet pulled up to her ears. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, the only sound in the silent room. It was a regular nightmare, but she never got used to it, no matter how many times it visited her. She realised her face was damp with sweat or tears seconds before a tidal wave of nausea came crashing over her, and she just barely made it to the bathroom before bringing up bile. It took a while to clean the bathroom floor, and by the time she made it back to her bed Darcy was fully awake. Sensing that sleep wasn’t an option any longer she pulled out the laptop that Stark had given her and began outlining a code that would help her next time this happened. It was in that moment that she knew what she would do. What Darcy needed more than anything was a family, a robot to help her after nightmares was in no way comparable to genuine human concern. She needed Tony and Pepper.

  


By the time morning came around and the rest of the Home started to get up, Darcy had made up her mind completely. It would take time to iron out all the issues and to keep them all safe, but she knew in her gut that it was the right choice.  
  
She decided to phone Tony to tell him what she had decided and bit her lip nervously as she waited for him to pick up.  
  
“Hello?” his voice was muffled by a yawn and she couldn’t help but laugh a little.  
  
“Hi Tony. You haven’t slept, have you?”  
  
“Maybe,” he yawned again, and again, “Why are you calling so early anyway? Have you got a coding problem I can help with?” the hope evident in his voice made it clear to her that he wished he was wrong.  
  
“I was thinking about your offer, you know, about fostering me?” she paused for a moment, the nerves becoming too much. Tony clearly misunderstood the situation however, and couldn’t keep the disappointment out of his voice,  
  
“I understand, it’s okay, really, I’ll let Pepper know as soon as she’s out of her meeting.”  
  
“No, no. I’m saying yes. I want you to foster me, if…if the offer’s still open?” she didn’t think he even heard any word after “yes,” if the excited shrieking was anything to go to by.  
  
“Holy shit yes! I need to tell Pep! She’ll be so happy! I’m so happy!” he came back to the phone and cleared his throat, “Um, yes. The offer is definitely still open, when do you want us to come by and set up a meeting?” Darcy smiled to herself, she was getting another home!  
  
“Whenever, after you’ve slept though.”  
  
“Deal. I’ll see you soon Darce.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who's left kudos and comments! I'm really glad you enjoyed it!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's a bit short! (I swear it looks like way more on Microsoft Word!) I've been away for a few weeks and I'm really busy with doctor's appointments and sixth form work, but I'll get another chapter out when I can!

The other children that Darcy lived with were astonished to see a limousine screech into the driveway, and even more surprised when the famous Tony Stark leapt out of the passenger seat closely followed by a slightly more composed Pepper Potts and an exhausted Happy.  
  
It was hilarious to see all of the children who had made Darcy’s life so miserable crowding around them both in the lobby, even more so when she pushed through them all with her bags and her boxes. They glared at her when Happy took her bags, and when Tony and Pepper engulfed her in a hug, and she didn’t wave when they turned out of the drive and into the street. This time, for the first time, she left without thinking of when she’d go back.  
  
The car ride back to Stark Tower was quiet for the most part, but the air was charged with an excited yet nervous energy. Happy was driving and Pepper, Tony and Darcy were sat in the back, not really engaging in conversation but all grinning widely. Tony squeezed her hand when they passed the library where everything began, and the two burst into a fit of giggles at the ridiculousness of the entire situation. This broke the tension in the car, and it didn’t take long at all for the back of the limo to be filled with uncontrollable laughter while Happy looked on from the driver’s seat in confusion. That, of course, only made it all funnier.  
  
When they arrived at her new home, Darcy was almost paralysed by nerves and she wasn’t completely sure why. Tony seemed about the same, bouncing on the balls of his feet and being weirdly silent, whereas Pepper was the one babbling like a lunatic. They all helped to carry Darcy’s few possessions inside, into the foyer where J.A.R.V.I.S was there to greet them.  
  
“Hello Kat Dennings, it is such a pleasure to have you back with us. Your rooms are not yet ready for you, as you have a choice between sharing a floor with Pepper and Tony or having a floor to yourself.”  
  
“Rooms? Plural? I could have my own floor?” she hadn’t even had her own room in her home as a child, she had always shared with her little sister, and she had always shared a bedroom at the care homes.  
  
“Darcy, you don’t need to decide right now, we can set up something temporary until you make up your mind-”  
  
“No, it’s okay, I think,” she blushed slightly, unsure of how welcome she really was, unsure where the boundaries were, “I think,”  
  
“Would you like to share our floor? I promise you, it’s no imposition at all, if that’s what you want.” How was it that Pepper always knew what to say? It was almost as if she could read Darcy’s mind.  
  
“Yes,” she was so quiet that at first, she could barely hear herself, “Yes please,” she smiled tentatively.  
  
“What’s ours is yours, kiddo. Don’t worry about it.” Tony pulled her into a half hug and gently ruffled her hair. She couldn’t help but be reassured, laughing a little at his behaviour.  
They carried her boxes and bags to the lift, where J.A.R.V.I.S. took the three of them up to the 19th floor, and then Tony and Pepper ushered Darcy through a door near the big floor to ceiling window.  
  
“These rooms could be yours, if you’d like. They were planned out as guest suites, so you’ve got a bedroom, a sitting room, a bathroom and a small kitchen. These are yours; you don’t need to share them if you don’t want to, it can be your own private space, you don't even need to let anyone else in if you don't want, it’s all up to you,” Pepper’s soothing voice and her hand on Darcy’s shoulder grounded her as she tried to take in all her new surroundings at once. She wandered slowly around the suite, trailing her fingers across the soft fabric of the settee and the wall’s smooth honey paint, already half in love with the place but also planning out all the improvements she wanted to make. A few brighter colours maybe, definitely some more gadgets, she could ask about going out to get some books. She could make it homely. At the moment, there was no trace that the room was expecting a visitor, it was empty and bare, a clean slate. All of the other homes she’d been at had been full of other people’s belongings and leftovers and junk, but this was hers. All hers.  
  
She re-joined Tony and Pepper in the sitting room, her sitting room, to find them bickering about what Darcy could and couldn’t do with her room.  
“We could paint it, Darce, any colour you want, and we can make you a corner for your tech- “  
  
“No Tony! I’m not having Darcy turn into a teenager version of you!”  
  
“Hey!”  
  
“I love you Tones, but you’ve barely slept recently, you were up working on something or other most of every night last week,” he tried to defend himself but fell silent at the look on her face, then the three of them burst out laughing once again.  
  
“You don’t mind, do you Darcy? I just think technology you’re working on should be kept to the labs when possible, we can talk about it further if you disagree-”  
  
“No, it’s okay, I get it” She wasn’t happy about not having her tech, but she was almost afraid to disagree. It didn’t matter, however. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she was happy and loved and safe.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry that it's been so long since I posted a new chapter, I started a new school, I've got exams and I've had the worst writers block in the world.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I'll try to post another as soon as I can.  
> As usual, I don't own marvel or any of these characters, just borrowing them for fun, and if you spot any spelling or grammar mistakes or plot holes, or can think of any improvements then please let me know  
> Enjoy!

The first two weeks in her new home were some of the happiest in Darcy’s life. She had designed her rooms and painted them with Tony, and knew that there was no turning back, not that she wanted to. At least she was mostly sure she didn’t.  
  
There was a photo she liked that she’d placed on her bedside table, of her and Pepper and Tony all covered in blue and purple paint when they decorated, all laughing like idiots. She hadn’t felt so safe and so happy since her parents were alive. She was still worried about being lulled into a false sense of security, but she was happy for now and tried to focus on the positives instead. She not only had her own bedroom but her own living room, kitchen, and bathroom, she had decorated everything the way she liked, she and Tony had built a secret desk for her tech that could be covered by a roll down canvas print in case Pepper came in, as well as her own lab that joined onto Tony’s. She hadn’t met any of the other’s living in the tower, and none of the public knew about her being fostered and to say that she was nervous about it would be the understatement of the century.  
  
It shouldn’t have bothered her that she was living with the Avengers, her foster dad was Iron Man after all, but still, they’re the Avengers! She couldn’t imagine just hanging out with them or chatting to them like she did with Tony, it didn’t feel right for some reason, but she knew it would have to happen sooner or later.  
  
“Hey Tony, when should I meet the others? I can’t stay in my rooms and the lab for ever.”  
  
“The others? Whenever you like kid, it’s your home,” he frowned at her, “you can do pretty much whatever you like, just on behalf of Pep I will remind you to try your best to stay out of jail, and we will both remind you to, y’know, eat and sleep regularly and stuff. And no boys in your rooms unsupervised. Or girls, if you swing that way. Or nonbinary people, I guess. Should I stop talking?” Darcy couldn’t help but laugh, he was so overprotective and dumb, kind of like a puppy trying to be a guard dog. It was also kind of fatherly, which Darcy felt more than a little weird about.

She decided that she was ready to meet the others, she was kinda terrified, but she also wanted to have her fun.  
  
She went downstairs for one of the first times since moving in. She had checked with J.A.R.V.I.S before hand and knew that everyone was in the living room, so she put on her headphones and came out of the lift on her phone. The first person to see her was Captain America Steve, who looked more than a little confused. The others followed his lead pretty quickly, all appearing to be puzzled at why there was a strange girl wandering around the tower.  
  
“Um – ma’am, I don’t think you should be up here ma’am. This is one of the private floors, only open to residents, not to the public,” Darcy had to fight incredibly hard to keep a straight face.  
  
“Yeah I know” she smiled at him and walked over to the kitchen island and started making hot chocolate, “Hey, would you like some?”  
  
“No thank you, you shouldn’t be up here ma’am”  
  
“Yeah I should,” she flashed him a grin and called back to the living room, “Does anyone want hot chocolate?” everyone refused so she carried on sorting out her own  
  
“Seriously miss, what are you doing here? This is a private floor, J.A.R.V.I.S shouldn’t have let you up here”  
  
“I know it’s a private floor Mr Rogers, and I’m making myself hot chocolate, you sure you don’t want any?”  
  
At this point the Black Widow no Ms Romanoff no Natasha walked in and asked the obvious question that Steve hadn’t, “Who exactly are you?”  
  
And maybe she should’ve thought about this bit a little more. Darcy or Kat? She didn’t know these people at all, and Tony and Pepper trusted them, they were national heroes, they were the freakin’ Avengers for Christ’s sake! But still...  
  
“I’m Kat Dennings”  
  
“and who exactly are you, Kat Dennings?”  
  
It was at that point Tony arrived, and everyone turned to him expectantly, Darcy no exception. “Hi Tony! Hot chocolate?”  
  
“Sure kid, ta, I see you’ve met the others?”  
  
“Tony who the hell is this?!”  
  
“This is … Kat?” he looked at her as if for confirmation, and she nodded slightly in response, “Yeah this is Kat, my … um … my”  
  
“You have a kid!? Why didn’t you tell us you have a daughter?” now Tony looked like he had no idea what the hell to say, Darcy was trying her hardest not to burst out laughing and all of the others looked lost, even Ms Romanoff, who everyone knew was a genius.  
  
“Tony and Pepper are fostering me,” she told them with a smile, and the ensuing cacophony almost deafened her, and she and Tony cracked up at the faces of his teammates.  
  
“So Pepper told me that you guys have group dinners? I can cook, who wants pasta tonight?” everyone seemed pleased at the suggestion, so Darcy cooked that night and they all seemed to have fun eating together. She enjoyed herself more than she had in a very long time, and if she had asked J.A.R.V.I.S to sneak a picture of the group when none of them were looking, well that was neither here nor there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading X

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave kudos, comments are appreciated and I'm open to constructive criticism. If you notice any grammar or spelling errors please let me know, this work is unbeta-ed.


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